Wine Adventures for Daily Consumption

Follow Rene via Email

When it comes to Riesling, the wine market has a split personality. You have the people who enjoy sweet wines and love drinking sweet Riesling. Then, you have the people who hate sweet wine and, therefore, won’t drink Riesling. But if you are in-the-know… You can fall in love with dry but fruity, racy but voluptuous, bold but elegant, Riesling. The trick is standing in the aisle and figuring out which Riesling is which.

Albert Mann Riesling Cuvee Albert 2014. Vin D’Alsace. I bought a case of this wine un-tried and un-tasted. Most Alsatian Rieslings are on the dry side of the spectrum, so I felt comfortable with my purchase. Once, I opened it and took my first sip, I had this insane desire to hug the bottle to my chest and shout “Mine!!!!” However, since I am in the business of selling wine and always love to share my good deals (clothes, shoes and good lawn care, included), I instead started pouring this wine for everyone to try. It was universally enjoyed because this Alsatian Riesling has something for everyone.

The aromas of Albert Cuvee leap out of the glass and perform a pirouette. There is that first whiff of diesel gasoline that whirls with the fragrance of white and yellow flowers and candied ginger. People often call that smell Petrol, but I haven’t pumped enough European gas to know the difference. What I do know is that the aroma is iconic to several terroirs of Riesling, particularly when aged. Moving on to the first sip… This Riesling trumpets flavors of ripe, sweet lemon, lime, tart green apple skins, ginger. It coats the tongue with a little lanolin and then washes the coating away with bursting, citrus acidity like lemonade. Who doesn’t like lemonade? Particularly on a hot day! The mouth-watering flavors linger for a nice, long finish. Wow. I enjoyed just re-living the memory of it!! The alcohol by volume (ABV) is 12.5%… typical for Alsatian Rieslings. They have long, dry, beautiful summer days making gorgeously ripe grapes.

So, how do you capture this sublime moment? First off, you probably won’t want to look for this type of quality wine at your average grocery story. What you want to do vist an upscale local wine store or big box liquor store. Often, they will have a specific Riesling section.

Some wineries may include the term “Dry”, on their label. Dry can be a relative term as it is not legally defined. Dr. Konstantin Frank Dry Riesling from the Finger Lakes region of New York is dry with bright flavors of lemon-lime, grapefruit and honey. Notice the 12.5% ABV.

Some Riesling labels will have a sweet to dry scale on the back label, which is a nice idea, because the average person hasn’t memorized the Kabinett, Spatlase, Auslase, Trockenbeerenauslese of German labeling and most Riesling regions have not come up with a wine labeling plan for sweetness levels. Dr. Loosen’s Blue Slate Riesling Kabinett one example of a Riesling showing a sweetness level scale. (I’ve included a few other examples, as well.) Dr. Loosen balances on the scale at Medium Sweet. The ABV is 7.5% The label also recommends this wine with spicy foods which is spot on for sweeter Rieslings. Nothing quenches the fire of hot and spicy Thai curry like a sweet to medium dry Riesling.

All the above noted ABV’s point to another tip for making a Dry/Sweet determination. Look at the alcohol on the label. A 12.5% ABV can indicate that all the sugar in the ripe grapes was converted to alcohol during fermentation, so there isn’t a lot of sweetness left in the juice. Therefore, wines with a higher ABV are usually dryer. A 7.5% ABV generally reflects that there is still sugar remaining in the wine that has not been converted to alcohol. Definitely sweeter. That is a generalrule.

If you are new to Riesling, on a budget or just serving a bunch of your friends during a hot summer day, Clean Slate Riesling from Mosel,Germany (ABV 11.0%) is a fun starter wine from one of the lower shelves. $8-ish. Medium-dry and tasting of lime and stone fruit, this very inexpensive Riesling still shows some of its regional minerality. Not remotely as complex and gorgeous as the Albert Cuvee, but I’ve shared it with friends over some everyday Asian cuisine and on the patio in the summer –everyone smiled.

Another fine example is Famille Hugel Classic Riesling 2014 from Alsace. In the $20 range, this Riesling is dry and flavorful with lime, peaches and ginger. (ABV 12.7%) This wine is elegant and I would love it with some grilled white fish, seafood or even sashimi.

Just to keep it interesting, I have to mention this Ulrich Langguth Riesling Trocken 2014 Deutcher Seckt. A sparkling German Riesling from the Mosel region. It makes a nice aperitif . $13-ish in price. Easy to drink and delightfully dry (ABV 12.0%). Trocken means dry in German, so that helps. Sekt refers to the fact it is sparkling. Try this instead of Prosecco or Cava. Your guests will be excited to experience a different sparkling wine.

Well, this was fun!! Enjoy your day!

Share this:

Like this:

Leuta 2013 Syrah Cortona

There are days when you just have to say, “I love my life!!” The wine tasting I went to last night gave me great reason to say so. The owner/winemaker of Leuta Winery in Cortona, Italy, Denis Zeni, was in town looking to move his distribution further west than the Northeastern restaurants that currently purchase much of his export wine to the United States. My life was further rewarded when I found that Leuta Wines grow Syrah and have a 100% Syrah in their portfolio (see my blog post The Rise(?) of Italian Syrah). And even further upping my happiness ante, Denis makes kvevri wines with vines originating from Georgia (formerly of the Soviet Union). Most people have heard of wines made in clay amphora (kvevri), but they are few and far between. I had only recently read an in-depth article about this type of winemaking in Georgia and Portugal… and found it providence that I would meet a winemaker a week later employing similar methods for some of his very special wines. Another future treat!!

Good wines are best served with good stories. Denis knows that and he told his story well. He grew up and spent large portions of his life with his grandfather in Trentino. His grandfather was a farmer of both food crops and grapes for wine. His passion was for the wine. He passed away and the land was sold. Denis went into economics, banking, and investments for many years, but his spare time was spent pursuing his fascination with grape growing and winemaking in each hemisphere and many countries. He eventually purchased the Cortona land that is now Leuta Winery and he is the hands-on decision maker, charting the course of his vineyards. Denis explains that he chose the soil, the layout of his vineyards, the concentration of plantings, the winery equipment and how the grapes are grown, harvested and how wines are made. Super organically, I might add!! Denis is also working on making the process vegan, as well.

So, how good were the wines?? They were Very Good!!!!! I am the frugal wine drinker, but I had no problem purchasing Leuta wines. I am looking forward to the delivery of his Syrah, Sangiovese and Cab Franc. The wines are very clean and modern in the best of ways. New French oak is used judiciously, so these wines are not reeking of toasted vanilla. The 2013 Leuta Syrah Cortona was big on blackberry, dark plum, pepper and spice with a little fresh potting soil. The wine was refreshing. I thought the Leuta Merlot was excellent, but I kept returning to the Syrah to freshen my palate and indulge my myself again!! The Leuta Sangiovese was my second favorite — well crafted and elegant.

My thanks to Bill & Stephanie Lloyd for including us in your gathering and to Christin Hartung for being a lovely hostess. Leuta Wines have a wine club (a very wise business plan) that has nice benefits, especially if you are in the Cortona area. I think Denis picked up quite a few new members (as he should!) from this gathering! Check out the website leuta-wines-cortona.com Although Leuta is a small, boutique, estate winery, you will see that Denis has used his business background to promote his beautiful wines in a very organized, user-friendly way. As an American capitalist… I love it.

Share this:

Like this:

Standing in the grocery store looking for a Chardonnay to go with my chicken breasts browned in butter with spices and a little lemon. And thinking, “Huh?! I never drink Chardonnay any more.” So I looked at the selection and discovered I am truly a top shelf girl…at least at this store, anyway!

I chose Cuvaison because I’m thinking, “Carneros. A cooler climate. They grow grapes for sparkling wine there. Shouldn’t be too oaky.” Well, I was wrong there!! It’s oaky. It’s buttery. It’s bursting with flavors of crisp fresh pineapple , lemon juice, vanilla. It has enough crisp acidity to give the wine a good backbone so it’s not just a flabby, buttery, pineapple sledgehammer. This has slightly more restraint!

The wine comes from 44 separate vineyards, harvested and vinified separately. Then the wines are blended together to make a sum greater than its parts. The wines are aged in oak barrels for eight months, with 25% of the wine aged in New French Oak. About 66% of the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation . This is a second fermentation that introduces a special bacteria (think good bacteria!!) that converts crisp tartaric acid to softer lactic acid. Lactic acid is found in milk and sour cream. This fermentation also creates a organic chemical compound called diacetyl. This is the compound that makes butter taste like butter!! If you love buttery wines…malolactic fermentation is your friend. Malolactic fermentation is used in virtually all red wines but it is sometimes used in white wines to make the pH less acidic, make the body of the wine fuller, and impart buttery or butterscotch flavor.

So although I find this wine to be a butter bomb, those of you who like buttery Chardonnays will LOVE IT! I don’t love it because I am the girl who enjoys tartaric acid in my white wines, but I appreciate how it Cuvaison is crafted and the crispness that still shows through. You don’t have to always love something to appreciate it. $18-20.

Share this:

Like this:

My friend, Chuck Caldwell, introduced me to Altamura wines. Chuck is one of those rare people from Texas who was visiting and enjoying Napa wines during their early Renaissance in the 1970’s. He has many wonderful stories about some of the valley’s iconic wine makers. I only wish I could have traveled on those old, quiet, Napa Valley roads with Chuck…preferably in a little convertible. Chuck has been a wine mentor for me. He has great recollections of meals eaten and wines consumed with them. His treasured friendships with people like Frank Altamura are just pleasant chapters in Chuck’s storied life. I always tell Chuck, “I can’t wait to hear the story about when you raced in the Iditarod.” To me, Chuck’s done EVERYTHING, so running dogs in the Iditarod doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Of course, there would be wine. It’s Chuck’s wine stories that have made me eager to reach out and pluck the grapes of all these beautiful wines and learn about the vineyards from whence they came.

So back to my serious Red. I was introduced to Altamura wines by Chuck. And on my last trip to Napa we visited Altamura vineyards. The visit, of course, being arranged by Chuck. He’s such a nice guy and we love his wife, Jane, too. The Altamura estate is in Wooden Valley, located down an 11 mile woodsy, hair-pin-curve road running northeast out of Napa proper. Altamura is the only winery in Wooden Valley that is within the Napa Valley AVA. A word of advice, try to avoid this drive with a hangover or sitting in the back seat of the automobile. Trust me. All of us were slightly green on arrival… but we made a splendid recovery!!

The winery is much further away from Napa in spirit. The estate and surrounding area is very quiet and pastoral. It truly is a road less traveled. The recently built winery appears as though it was transported from Italy. The building is faced with stones ‘harvested’ from the estate. The big wood doors have an old Italian feel while concealing a very modern wine making facility inside. I didn’t see it completely finished. I think the construction was done over several years… perhaps dictated by the success of their harvests. How very old school!! Luckily, Napa has fairly predicable harvests. During our visiting 2014, we arranged the details of our wine shipment of our wine in a modest, but very practical, portable trailer next door to the winery. It was air-conditioned! No one cared!

Altamura Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. A big, cocoa and coffee infused Cabernet. Nice structure. Still with acidity despite its ripeness. Sublime with my Grass Fed ribeye, mashed Cauliflower ‘potatoes’ and steamed broccoli. This Cab is lush, sensual, , and a joy to drink. Soft tannins and polite acidity. I am glad I have a few more bottles in the cellar. This Altamura Cabernet has aged well . Although this vintage is no longer available, recent Altamura Cabernet Sauvignon vintages run $85-ish.

Altamura also produces several Italian varietal wines such as Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, and Negroamaro. I have been so pleased with all of them. I have also tried their Sauvignon Blanc which is Fume Blanc in style. Well crafted and well praised… as long as you like yours oaked.

If you are out in Napa Valley, consider a stop in to Ciccio, the Altamura family restaurant in Yountville. Inside this old Italian grocery store, we delighted in the casual atmosphere, excellent pizza and salads. The menu offers everything from pasta, wood grilled artichokes, to steak. If you live to have a Negroni, the bar offers seven variations. Additionally, all of the Altamura wines are available… and they are very, very nicely priced.

Thanks Chuck!!

Share this:

Like this:

Because sometimes wine is a loose term!!

I used a photo from the delivery carts with the word wine painted on it… because looking at the green glass, the one that looks like anti-freeze… you might not be sure!!

Wine isn’t always vitis vinifera!! Last weekend I had the extra-ordinary opportunity to try seventeen (17!!) fruit based wines. I say extra-ordinary because that denotes rare and unusual. And I am hoping I don’t revisit these anytime soon!! But I am grateful to have had the experience! The wines on cart (above) are fruit based wines. Even fruit might be a loose term because the green one had definite flavors of jalapeno. We all worked hard to find a winner amongst those we tasted and we were intrigued by the one that tasted like cake. Pound cake or white sheet cake with amaretto frosting. Hard to say. But cake… as opposed to fruit cake.

In addition to these beauties, our panel judged a flight of Mead (5) and a flight of flavored Meads (7). Mead is a fermented beverage… I just can’t bring myself to say wine… made with at least 50% honey. It can have flavors of clove and cinnamon and I think those are the better ones. You start adding some other flavors and, to me, they just taste weird!! Of course, I still can’t comprehend the flavor of banana in beer.

In addition to these very unique “wines”, we also tasted flights of Zinfandel (47), Viognier (12), and Unwooded Sauvignon Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc based blends (41), New World Temprnillo and blends (13), Sparkling Red (2) and Very Sweet White (8) wines. I am officially done with sweet wines until after the 2017 holidays.

The judging of these wines is done on an all volunteer basis. The wines are double blinded by having separate teams of volunteers that pour, volunteers that deliver the wines on carts, and volunteer judges that taste. There are fun, yet very professional, volunteers to help with tabulating scoring, running information and food, glass washing and polishing, pulling wines from the warehouse, driving forklifts, working with the wineries on entries, and I know I am leaving a ton of groups out. All these efforts help determine who wins Gold, Double Gold, Class Champions, etc. from a pool of 2,850 wines. Many of the winning wines are served in the Wine Garden at the official Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo (HLSR). A wine auction is also held as part of the fundraising process. I am not on a rodeo committee, so I do not know all the ins and outs of the planning and execution. What I do know: HLSR is an impressive labor of love to promote agriculture and raise money for education via scholarships for Texas youth. I do know that I am excited about participating in this process, even on a small level. All of this makes every wine I taste while judging, a wine deserving of responsible contemplation…. even if it is green.

Like this:

My blog is not a political blog, but since Trump is now our President-elect, it seemed like a good time to dust off the 2013 Trump Winery Meritage and give it a swirl. This wine was a gift to me this summer. I made the assumption it wouldn’t be good ( I should have had more faith in the giver….maybe even Trump, as well) and didn’t mind holding it until the election.

This Meritage was respectable. Dusty dark cherry and blackberry. The medium body wine was easy to drink. “Very easy,” my friends said. The tannins were smooth. I found a bit of savory herb character to it as well. The finish was medium in length. The breakdown for this wine is Cabernet Sauvignon 33%, Merlot 26%, Cab Franc 16%, Petite Verdot 14% and Malbec 11%. I wouldn’t rush out and buy it again… but my research has me very intrigued to try the 2015 Viogner and find the 2014 Meritage… which has a better reputation for complexity than the 2013.

Trump Winery is located a few miles from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was formerly known as Kluge and wines from this estate have been served at the White House and at the rehearsal dinner for Chelsea Clinton’s Foundation wedding.

The wine estate is the largest in Virginia and the entire east coast with 195 acres under vine. All the fruit is from the estate and is hand harvested. The tasting room is open for sampling and the estate also has a 45 room inn, Trump Hotel Collection, Albemarle Estate. The pictures are quite nice! You can get married there, picnic there and/or bring your dog when you come taste. Other wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Blanc de Blanc (Sparkling), Viogner and Rose.

Share this:

Like this:

I Love Being Ahead or At Least With the Curve!!

The Wine Spectator 40th issue magazine has an article about canned wine. One of the photos features cans of Underwood Wine. For the few of you that follow me, you saw it here first (August 2016)!!

Wine in Cans for Fishing, Boating or At the table? You tell me!!

Wines in cans. How extraordinary! I recently tried to purchase some French Rose in cans at my local Specs Liquor store. The wine salesman seemed somewhat appalled that I would ask. (Honestly, I didn’t blame him.) Of course, I came bearing my recent issue of Food & Wine magazine that featured not one, but two, French Roses in a can. He then was more polite about saying they didn’t carry canned wine.

So while I am at Trader Joes to purchase a gallon of milk, I came acress these little canned cuties. Yes, I somehow ended up in the wine department. Go figure. So I scooped them up ($5.95 each, 12 oz). I left the canned Pinot Noir on the self — it just doesn’t seem possible that you could find good or even okay Pinot in a can. They may label it Pinot Noir, but it won’t taste like Pinot Noir. Darn, now I will have to go back to double check-because journalists must investigate.

I shared these cans of wine with a couple of friends. One of my friends insisted she drink them from a glass and decreed the idea of drinking wine from the actual can as “horrifying.” But once we got past that little sticking point–she actually enjoyed them.

These wines come from the Union Wine Co. and the grapes are sourced from somewhere in Oregon. No single vineyard. No estate winery. But don’t hold that against them. The Pinot Grigio, our favorite of the two, was crisp and dry with flavors of ripe, bruised pear and apples and ripe peach (13% ABV). The Rose had nice flavors and aromas of peach and strawberry (12%). Give me a hot day and I would drink either of them if a host offered one to me nice and cold, and in a good Yeti. I like many other wines better, but these both have their place… in the sun!!

Share this:

Like this:

Rose is Summer in a Bottle

It’s June and while it may still occasionally feel like spring in New York, summer has arrived with a vengeance in Texas!!

To me, summer means Rose´. It is perfect to enjoy on the boat dock or patio on a hot summer day and continue sipping right into our hot, muggy evenings. I love it all by its little lonesome self. But here is the BIG tip…

Rose´pairs beautifully with almost any food!! I’m blonde and Rose´is a no brainer.

Rose´is so versatile that you can sip on it with salad, seafood, chicken, cheese plates, tandoori and even barbecue! Yes, BarBQ!!! And although I prefer a heavy Red wine with my steak, I would never turn up my nose at a Rose´. This is the easy wine. The one to keep multiple bottles of on your coldest shelf in the fridge. The one that is so pretty and pink.

Chocolate covered bacon

Regis Bouvier Marasnnay Rose

Here is the other big tip. When you are looking over a wine list at dinner and nothing looks comfortingly familiar (or, if it does look familiar, it looks expensive darn it!), look to see if they have one or more bottles of Rose´. It is not unusual to find a bottle of Rose on a restaurant wine list for $25-$35 and, like I said, it goes with everything. So it doesn’t matter if everyone is ordering wildly different appetizers or entrees!! And, my last tip, no one will ever think you are being cheap because Rose’s are the coolest thing going right now!

And get over that “I don’t drink sweet wine” excuse, because the majority or Rose’s are dry!!! They are nothing like White Zinfandel or the blush wine of your mother’s day. Rose’s range in color from pale salmon to cherry pink. The pale salmons tend to be bone dry and extraordinary crisp! The darker wines tend to be softer and rounder in style and may even have some mild tannins. Flavors tend to encompass strawberry, watermelon, grapefruit and, my favorite, minerality!

If you are considering what mixed case of Rose’s to purchase (Yes, a case! It’s cheap!!!), you would want to include classic Rose´from Provence, France, but Rose´ is made everywhere and from almost every red grape. Spain makes beautiful Rose from Garnacha (Grenache) and Italy has their Rose´ of Sangiovese. Around the world, Rose´ is made from Pinot Noir, Cabernet, and Syrah, to name a few.

Drink it young. Drink it cold. Just drink it!!!

Share this:

Like this:

…which doesn’t mean it’s going IN the food. Opened a fridge chilled bottle of Texas wine, Grape Creek 2015 Rendezvous. A Texas Rhine… how cool is that?! Even cold it had potential, but as it warmed the complexity of flavors became far more distinguished. Dark cherry, red cherry, licorice, sandelwood spice. Light in color, but medium bodied. A delightful surprise to keep me company while I prep the steaks and cauliflower mashies. Happy Saturday! I’m on the San Bernard Beach…I mean River. Harvey left lots of sand for us. #Grapecreek. https://everydaycabrene.com/2017/10/14/cooking-with-wine

Share this:

Like this:

Reaching into fridge on a Sunday afternoon, I find this lonely bottle, leftover from some riverside gathering, just waiting to be opened and enjoyed… and enjoyed it was. It is a perfect transition from lean, citrus, acidic whites of summer to the fuller, spicier (and often red), wines of September, or in Texas, October.

This Count Karolyi 2015 Grüner Veltliner hails from Hungary. Hungary has been making wines since the Roman times and their wines (think Tokaji Aszu) were held in very high regard for several hundred years, up until World War II. Following Soviet occupation, fine wine production was discarded. For fifty years, cheap, sweet, bulk made, state-run, red wines with no discerning qualities were enjoyed by practically no one. Fortunately, at the end of the Cold War, the Soviets withdrew from Hungary and the Hungarian wine culture has been undergoing a renaissance ever since. Grüner Veltliner is a bit player in Hungary, but its cool climate nature, crisp acidity, and ability to reflect its terroir, make it an interesting up and comer. This particular Grüner, from the Pannon wine region, is crisp, bursting with ripe pear and nectarine and is perfect for light summer foods and white meat dishes… or just a hot, fall day in Texas. Continue reading “Give me the Grüner!”→

Share this:

Like this:

Eating at our favorite local Thai spot. Vieng Thai is pretty hip tonight. We've got our usual Eggplant Salad, Pad Thai and Spicy Clams, but tonight….tonight we have Barry Manilow and Frank Sinatra being sung by a hipster Asian guy. Frankly, who cares about the wine?? But since you asked, we are chilling with Domaine de Pellehaut Harmonies de Gascogne 2016 Rosé picked up at #MemorialWineCellar Maybe a little dry for the fire that's about to be served, but it's a lively and lovely aperitif. Mouthwatering watermelon and kiwi. We will make it work. Along with the Willie Nelson being sung in the background. #ViengThai #Pellehaut #rose

Share this:

Like this:

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a Rose tasting for the trade, along with a master class on Rose led by Master Sommelier, Gillian Banlace. I won a lunch with Gillian and other guests the following day. While waiting for a table, I ordered Rose. The waitress suggested a Brut Rose. We never discussed which one. She just brought me a glass and I drank about half before the group arrived and we moved onto other wines…great wines, I must add. But the flavor, texture, and freshness of this Rose lingered long after lunch was done…well into this week. So, I’m back at Brasserie 19 for the reveal. Veuve Cliquot Brut Rose (NV) with enticing flavors of watermelon, cherry and cotton candy. Almond toast finish. Dry, but luscious at the same time. I am feeling very indulged.

The Cliquot Champagne house was founded in 1772 by Philippe Cliquot. It is believed to be the first Champagne house to produce Rose Champagne (Pinot Noir). Fine Rose champagne has since always been the Cliquot house trademark. Barbe-Nichole Ponsardin, an educated young woman, married Philippe’s son, Francois, in 1798. She was left a widow in 1805. Because she had been included in Francois’ passion for and the running of his winery, the widow Cliquot (Veuve means widow) was able to take over the champagne house. Very unique for a woman in that day in time. Additionally, she went on to make revolutionary changes in the production of fine Champagne that are still used today. Fine being the key word. Veuve Cliquot has always been about making quality Champagne. Thank you, Madame Cliquot. I raise a toast to you.